Conan Kidnapped
by Thrushsong k'Varis
Summary: Edogawa Conan has been kidnapped, last seen at a Kaitou KID heist. Hakuba Saguru is convinced KID knows something, but there's one more problem—Kuroba Kaito is also missing. When the police receive another heist notice, Hakuba is determined to confront KID and find answers.
1. Missing

Hakuba opened the door at the top of the stairwell carefully, half expecting to set off another trap. Stepping through the doorway, he sighed in relief as no explosion of glitter, feathers, or dye occurred. Scanning his surroundings, Hakuba blinked in surprise as he saw the white figure leaning casually on a corner of the railing, looking out over the city.

"Enjoying the view, KID?" Hakuba bit out, the words sharper than he'd intended.

"It's rather limited, but lovely all the same," KID remarked as he turned to face the detective. "You look like you could use a break, Tantei-san."

"I'm fine, unlike Edogawa-kun," Hakuba said flatly, "who went missing after he was last seen at _your_ heist." The Taskforce had exploded with rumors a few days after the last heist; Edogawa Conan had gone missing, with no clues or ransom demands from possible kidnappers. There was a still-ongoing debate amongst the officers whether the Kaitou KID had been responsible. Hakuba doubted the thief would harm Edogawa-kun, as all previous interaction seemed to indicate that the thief enjoyed his encounters with the elementary-school detective.

"I'm afraid I can't help you with that, Tantei-san," KID responded, moving away from the railing, and Hakuba was careful to move with him, keeping the thief in sight. Division One had shared stories with the Taskforce of how many cases the child detective seemed to be involved in. Edogawa seemed to have numerous encounters with armed criminals, all of which had ended with the criminals arrested. Any situation that could keep the small detective from leaving any clues whatsoever had to be serious. And anything dangerous or shady enough to keep Edogawa from leaving hints would not be able to escape the thief's notice.

"You know something, KID." Hakuba frowned as he caught KID's hands make a strange motion. "You wouldn't be able to _not_ notice something going on right at your own heist." As the motion repeated, he realized it was sign language. _Watch_.

"I already said I can't tell you, Tantei-san." KID's hand formed hurried signals as he spoke. _Unfriendly eyes and ears, distraction, excuse needed._

"Can't or won't?" Hakuba asked, and glared at the thief's non-response. It shouldn't be possible for someone to be listening to their conversation…unless KID himself was bugged. His initial scan of the surroundings when he'd stepped out onto the roof hadn't revealed any presence except the thief, which meant either KID had seen something he hadn't, or…yes, now that he thought back, there had been a glint of something on the neighboring rooftop, just out at the edge of his vision. KID had maneuvered to be directly between Hakuba and that glint: their watcher(s?) would only see KID's back.

_Tantei-kun alive not hurt._

'While that's good to know, it tells me nothing,' Hakuba thought, and snapped, "Explain yourself, KID." Hakuba was starting to think that KID was very much involved with Edogawa-kun's disappearance. If the boy's captors knew that KID knew about them…were they the ones behind KID on the rooftop? Why hadn't KID done something about them?

"You're the detective, Tantei-san," was KID's response, as he signed _distraction_ emphatically.

Hakuba growled, and stepped forward, "You know where he is." When KID opened his mouth to respond, Hakuba began flinging accusations and theories at the thief without giving him a chance to reply, glaring furiously and thinking 'hurry up and tell me what I need to know'. He thought there was a flicker of relief in KID's eyes before the thief resumed his signed explanation.

_Last heist, gunmen on the roof for ambush. Tantei-kun surprised, captured. Leverage against kid. Confirmed Tantei-kun alive. Unhurt rely on kid's behavior. Urgent- police watched, if gunmen discovered, threatened will kill Tantei-kun._

At this point Hakuba felt justified in reciting several of Nakamori-keibu's more creative curses. There was no possible way for him to take out a group of armed men and rescue Edogawa without police help while avoiding being seriously injured or killed. Even with KID and Edogawa potentially helping, he needed backup, preferably organized and more dangerous or more qualified (hopefully both) than the criminals, since it seemed likely KID would be kept away from Edogawa to keep the thief from pulling off a rescue.

KID had continued signing, and Hakuba mentally groaned at the apparently coded message. _Tantei-kun's friend- small but scary. Message is 'badge and glasses'_ Hakuba frowned as KID stepped back towards the railing. _Next heist soon- bring questions for Tantei-kun._

And then KID jumped over the railing, his white glider swiftly disappearing out of sight.

* * *

If you know sign language, forgive the abuse (I don't know more than finger-spelling). Pretend KID can modify the signs as necessary to convey the right meaning and keep any watchers from noticing anything.

This was kind of a prologue, the next chapter will jump back a bit to the previous heist.


	2. First Clue

This is not in chronological order, it takes place approximately two weeks before chapter 1.

* * *

Ran looked around and realized with a combination of worry and resignation that Conan-kun had, yet again, disappeared in the middle of a heist. She hoped that this time he had at least stayed in the building, and not tried to chase KID across the city again (although at least that time he'd been with Hattori-kun).

Glancing around the room later as she noticed that some of the Task Force were starting a post-heist cleanup, she noted that Nakamori-keibu and Hakuba-san were still absent. Hoping that Conan-kun was with one of them, she began asking the Task Force officers if they'd seen where her charge had gone during the heist. By the time Hakuba-san returned (now covered in dried glue and glitter) she was struggling not to panic. None of the officers had seen Conan-kun after KID had pulled his usual disappearing act, and they had been chasing the thief all over the building.

"Hakuba-san, have you seen Conan-kun?" The detective seemed startled by her question, but his expression quickly morphed into concern.

"When KID disappeared I saw him running out of the room and into a stairwell. Unfortunately, I was caught by a sleep-gas trap on one of the landings as I followed him. Has he not returned?"

"No one has seen him anywhere in the building, I've asked all of the Task Force but they all said they never saw him after KID disappeared!"

"Mouri-san, if Edogawa-kun has not returned, it's likely he is still on the rooftop." Holding up a police radio, he added, "I haven't heard a report of the roof being checked by any of the Task Force yet."

"How can I get to the roof from here?" Ran needed to find Conan-kun, and give him a good lecture about running off without telling her.

"I'll show you the way, Mouri-san, it's likely some of KID's traps are still active." With that, Hakuba turned and led the way out of the room and into the closest stairwell. Ran was impatient to reach the roof, but reluctantly let Hakuba lead the way and point out how to avoid triggering KID's traps; she didn't want to delay finding Conan-kun even longer by getting herself stuck in something.

When they finally reached the rooftop, she immediately began searching for Conan-kun, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her heart as each place she looked revealed no sign of him. Noticing that Hakuba-san seemed to be examining something, she walked over to him.

"Hakuba-san? What did you find? Did Conan-kun drop something?" Her hopes were dashed when the teen detective looked up with a serious expression.

"Mouri-san, I'm afraid it's likely that Edogawa-kun has been kidnapped." The detective moved to the side, revealing a pair shoes and watch, and Ran instantly recognized them as Conan-kun's. "The kidnappers most likely changed Edogawa-kun's clothes to make it harder to identify him if they were caught in the security cameras. His shoes are very eye-catching, and the watch-face is also easily recognizable."

"But why would someone kidnap Conan-kun?" Ran was feeling light-headed with the realization that she had failed to protect her charge, that Conan-kun might be hurt, or worse—

"There's too little data to be able to deduce the motive. The best plan right now is to inform Nakamori-keibu and let the police begin their investigations." After a moment he added, "I will, of course, continue my own search until Edogawa-kun is found."

Reluctantly, and only slightly reassured by the promise, Ran followed Hakuba back inside the building, praying that Conan-kun would be found soon.

* * *

What do you think about Hakuba's theory?

Next chapter will be Takagi-keiji talking to another teen detective...


	3. A Lack of Leads

This occurs after chapter two, but still about a week (i haven't quite decided) before the events in chapter one, Missing.

* * *

Takagi Wataru was just getting off his shift one week after Conan's disappearance when Hattori Heiji burst into the Beika police station, demanding to be let in on the investigation. Remembering how close the teen was with Conan (Hattori-kun seemed to work with Conan easily when they were involved with a case) Takagi was only surprised it hadn't happened sooner. He'd seen the teen in enough cases that Takagi knew the receptionist's efforts to turn him away would be utterly futile when faced with Hattori's sheer stubbornness.

So Takagi took pity on the poor man and went to placate the teen detective. "Hattori-kun! You're talking about Conan-kun's case, yes? Sato-san and I aren't officially on the case, but Megure-keibu's been keeping us updated. I'm just off shift, so I can give you a summary."

"Thanks, Takagi-san," Hattori managed a strained smile as he followed Takagi deeper into the station. The promise of information kept Hattori quiet as they made their way to an unoccupied meeting room, where Takagi waved the teen inside.

"From what K—the kid's Neechan said, it's bein' investigated as kidnappin'?"

Takagi nodded, "Based on the evidence discovered by Hakuba-kun, it seems likely; Conan-kun's shoes and watch were found on the rooftop, and his belt was discovered in the stairwell's trashcan."

Hattori frowned, "Why bother dumpin' his belt in the trash when they just left his shoes and watch lyin' on the roof?"

"Hakuba-kun," Takagi decided to ignore Hattori's grimace at the second mention of the other teen, "theorized that the shoes and watch are instantly recognizable to anyone who knows Conan-kun. If they had been spotted with Conan's shoes or watch it would be very suspicious; it would have been less of a risk to keep Conan's belt and other clothing to get rid of elsewhere. Unfortunately we haven't been able to find where the rest of the clothing was left, and forensics hasn't been able to get anything useful in terms of fingerprints from what we have."

"So, ya know the kid's missin', but got nothin' at all on who took him?"

"Nakamori-keibu had his men run a check of the security footage during the heist, and they identified two suspicious figures, but again, we haven't been able to get a match on any distinctive features since their faces were hidden; the best estimate we have is one was tall wearing a long black coat, and the other shorter and bulky like a security guard. One of Nakamori-keibu's men found footage of them leaving, and the large man was carrying a bag that would have been big enough to fit Conan-kun."

"Any chance I could take a look at the security tapes?"

"You'd have to ask down in forensics, Hattori-kun, I don't have access to the official evidence."

"Right. Is there anythin' else ya can tell me?"

Takagi sighed, "Nothing else has been found, and there's been no contact from the kidnappers, so ransom kidnapping has been ruled out at this point."

Hattori noticed the officer's hesitation and prodded, "Any ideas ya got could be useful, Takagi-san."

"Well, half of Division Two is convinced that the Kaitou KID is the kidnapper, or in league with them, since Conan-kun disappeared while he was chasing the thief." Seeing Hattori's doubtful look, Takagi added, "It's preferable to the most likely outcome at this point."

He felt bad for mentioning it when the teen detective's face went grim, "I know that, Takagi-san, but K—Conan-kun is a smart guy. Until I see the body myself, I'm not gonna stop believin' he found a way ta survive."

As Hattori left the room, Takagi found himself wishing that the teenage detectives could find something the police hadn't been able to, because the longer they went with no leads, the less likely it was that Conan-kun would be alright when they found him.

* * *

I'm curious to hear what y'all think is going on. Have my hints been too obvious?


	4. Kidnapped

Back to the beginning, for the chapter you've all been waiting for!

* * *

When Conan burst out onto the rooftop, slightly out of breath, he registered several things nearly simultaneously. The first being Kid was _not_ alone on the roof, and the not-Kid person (who was difficult to see clearly) had an eerie resemblance to his alcoholic pursuers. The second was that this (possibly alcohol-related) person was pointing a gun at Kid. The third was Kid shouting "Tantei-kun get out of here!" and the belated realization that both men on the rooftop had seen his unsubtle entrance.

Unfortunately, he didn't realize that his observations had been incomplete until he'd already been lifted unceremoniously into the air. As he attempted to reorient himself, he felt the unmistakable sensation of the cold metal of a gun being pressed into the side of his head. His assailant was gripping his wrist, which prevented him from using the sleep darts, his shoes had yet to be turned on, and even with them powered up he was unlikely to do enough damage to prevent the man from shooting him. Heists were supposed to be safe from his murder-attracting luck!

There was an indistinct noise from Kid's direction, loud cursing from the man holding him, and a flurry of white before he heard loud gunshots. Refocusing, he saw that Kid had stopped just short of the two smoking holes in the ground where presumably his attacker's partner had shot at the thief. He assumed Kid had done something to try to distract the gunmen (oh god was that Vodka!? It _was_—but then—).

"Don't move, KID. I'd have to shoot the brat if you tried," said the man holding him (not Gin, he would have recognized that cold voice). Had this man sounded _excited_ about possibly shooting him?

"Now, now, there's no need for such drastic threats, Snake." Kid's voice sounded light, almost playful, but Conan registered absently that Kid looked oddly grim, his usual grin nowhere to be seen. It made Conan think that Kid knew the gunman (Snake? was it a codename?) was a serious threat, and would have no hesitation hurting or possibly killing Conan.

"You," the fact than Conan was shaken slightly in the gunman's grip made it clear he was the one the gunman (Snake? could it be from snake wine?) was addressing, "You're the detective brat, aren't you?"

"W-what?" Did this Snake know his identity? How? Was he one of _them_ after all? Why would the Black Organization be after Kaitou KID? Vodka still had his gun aimed at the phantom thief. Had Kid been threatened—and possibly _shot at—_by these men before?

"From the papers, the so-called KID Killer: that's you, right brat?" Snake seemed amused. Conan hoped that meant this had nothing to do with his being poisoned. He felt the need to convince them he was just a slightly smart seven-year-old (Vodka shouldn't recognize him, right?). The more these guys underestimate him, the better chance he'd have to figure out what's going on and get out of this without getting shot.

"U-un. The reporter n-neesan called me KID K-killer a lot." Conan hoped he was acting sufficiently nervous; a kid being calm in this situation would only seem more suspicious.

"Good." Conan blinked in confusion at the smug tone in Snake's voice. "You're going to help us catch the Kaitou KID."

"Eehhhh? How?" Conan had no idea what these guys wanted from him (except it apparently had to do with Kid and hopefully not the APTX), and mentally crossed his fingers that the psycho holding him would be smug enough to explain his plan so that Kid could do something about it.

Snake didn't respond, but Conan assumed the man had signaled Vodka somehow, because Vodka spoke up saying, "You'd best cooperate with us this time, KID," holstered his gun and walked over to them, and Conan heard him grumbling under his breath. "Aniki's plan was simpler. No need to deal with sniveling brats."

To Conan's alarm, he proceeded to take off Conan's shoes, belt, and watch before throwing them all out of reach. How would they know about his gadgets? And why hadn't they taken his glasses if they knew? He desperately hoped that he just looked like a scared and confused kid.

"Now that we know you won't be using one of your anti-KID tricks on us," Snake declared, "you're going to take out your phone."

Conan didn't bother hiding his confusion as he reached into his pocket, figuring that someone his apparent age would have no idea what was happening. Why would they want to use Conan's phone? Unless they thought KID could somehow trace it if they used their own?

"Good," said Snake, sounding disturbingly smug. Conan noted that Snake seemed to be the one in charge, as Vodka was simply keeping an eye on the thief on the other side of the roof. Conan silently hoped Kid had a plan, because none of the scenarios Conan came up with ended well.

"You're going to add a new contact to your phone," the man ordered, and Conan continued his observation of Kid as he followed directions, hoping to read the thief's plan from his body language or possible facial cues. Apart from the grim facial expression and tense posture, as if Kid was ready to move at a moment's notice, Conan couldn't find anything helpful.

"KID," Snake stated, and Conan watched as the thief tensed slightly. "You're going to give him your phone number." Conan's first thought was 'not good'. Once they had the thief's number they were probably planning to kill Conan. They had no reason to keep a seven-year-old kid around once they had what they wanted, especially a kid who had police contacts and could identify them. He shakily typed the number Kid recited, attempting to delay as his mind raced to find a possible escape.

When he'd finished saving the number in his phone, Snake started talking, "If you want to see brat alive, you'll do what we tell you. You'll get a message with a meeting time and place. If you don't show, alone, then the brat dies." As Kid nodded in acknowledgement, Conan's mind was racing. Assuming they weren't lying, these guys were planning to keep him a hostage, possibly long-term. Were they trying to threaten Kid for something? Were they actually trying to catch the Kaitou KID? Taking Conan as a hostage would (theoretically) make either option significantly easier.

"If you haven't reached the location in the message in time, the brat dies." Conan jerked in a full-body flinch (please ignore that I'm not crying, I'm seven and in shock) and mentally grimaced at the condition. It was starting to sound more like some of the ransom kidnapping cases he'd investigated before (what did they want from Kid?). He just hoped his kidnappers were actually planning on keeping him alive to make Kid follow their demands.

"Now, leave." Kid started to protest, but quickly closed his mouth when Snake pressed the gun more tightly to Conan's head. The thief slowly made his way to the edge of the roof, keeping his eyes on Conan. As Kid launched his glider Conan's vision was blocked by Vodka, who shoved a sickly-smelling cloth in his face. Despite his struggles, Conan was quickly knocked unconscious.

* * *

A/N: I'm thrilled that y'all shared your theories, and most of you were pretty close!

As a side note, chapters will probably vary considerably in length from this point on (this chapter alone accounts for about 1/3 of the total word count so far) depending on my level of inspiration and how well the characters choose to cooperate with me.


	5. Frustration

A/N: This occurs a few days after Hakuba's confrontation with KID (chapter 1, Missing).

* * *

Hakuba was tired, annoyed, utterly frustrated and mentally cursing flamboyant phantom-thieves as he made his way to the house where (he hoped) someone could translate KID's odd message and give him a lead. He'd been hoping that KID knew what had happened to Edogawa-kun and could give him information. _Useful_ information would have been wonderful (that wasn't entirely fair to the thief, but Saguru was too frustrated to care). True, he now knew that Edogawa-kun was alive, and had been kidnapped to use as leverage against KID by a (presumably) organized criminal group who were (somehow?) watching the police and probably KID himself to ensure that they went undiscovered.

He'd spent the last few days analyzing every possible meaning of what KID had said the night of the heist, attempting to come up with some kind of hint he could use to investigate the group that was responsible for this entire mess. Unfortunately he'd only managed to exhaust himself. There were just too many possibilities based on the few clues he had.

All of which meant that most of what KID had told him was _useless_, because Saguru could do absolutely _nothing_ with it. He couldn't give any evidence to the official investigators, because the (still unidentified) criminals would likely kill Edogawa-kun and KID as soon as they got wind of a rescue attempt. He couldn't tell Aoko-san that her idiot friend was alive and well (for now) because she wouldn't believe Kuroba was KID, and (even if he convinced her this time) if anything happened to further link KID and his civilian identity (other than the fact that Kuroba was missing) and the criminals confirmed it, the situation would become _more_ complicated (and probably more dangerous for everyone involved, as if he didn't have enough problems already). Similarly, Mouri-san could not be informed that her charge was (relatively) unharmed, for most of the same reasons (she would want the police investigating, or want to know his source of evidence, both of which would end badly), with the added factor of being currently unable to guarantee said charge's return to her (because he didn't even know what _city_ they were keeping Edogawa-kun in).

If Saguru was being honest with himself, half of the frustration stemmed from the fact that resolving this case would require for him to actively work with KID. The annoying, riddle-spouting, prankster magician was now his most helpful ally. It took serious effort not to cringe at the thought.

Mentally shaking himself and checking the slip of paper he'd scrawled an address on, he walked up the drive of house 222, block B in Beika. His research into KID's oddly-worded message had led him to believe that Haibara Ai was most likely to be the 'small but scary' friend of Edogawa-kun's. The police officers Hakuba had asked about the Detective Boys (under the pretense of finding out how they were coping) had all said that she seemed mature for her age, though he wondered how she'd managed to make so much of an impression on KID that the thief's automatic descriptor for her was 'scary'. Since Hakuba had also found that she lived with an eccentric inventor, he hoped that the 'badge and glasses' message would mean something to one or both of them. Ringing the bell, he hoped the other Detective Boys were not present. He was taking a leap to even come here to talk to a seven-year-old, but he was (reluctantly) trusting KID not to send him to someone who couldn't be helpful (and if this Haibara-san was as oddly mature and knowledgeable as Edogawa-kun was, it might just work).

He was pulled rudely out of his thoughts when the door jerked open and a dark-skinned teen half-shouted at him, "What're ya doin' here, Hakuba, ya jerk?"

Saguru closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in resignation, "I was hoping to make some progress in my investigation regarding Edogawa-kun's kidnapping, but I can see that's not going to happen."

Hattori responded angrily, "Oi! Ya can't just walk in here an' act like ya're th'only one tryin' ta help K—Conan!"

_You _are_ the one being actively unhelpful,_ Saguru thought, replying, "I implied no such thing," He felt his frustration spike and couldn't resist taunting the other teen, "I merely wanted to investigate a possible lead, while you've prevented me from doing so. Have you found any leads recently, or do you intend to wait for the police?"

"Why, ya smug little—"

"Hakuba-san, was it?"

Saguru blinked in surprise at the girl who'd just silenced the hot-headed detective by glaring, "Yes. Are you Haibara-san?"

She nodded and asked, "What has you so convinced you've found a lead when every police investigator has come up with nothing?"

It was a practical question, but he knew it wouldn't be wise to answer her outright while he was still standing out on the doorstep. He eyed the girl in consideration, "Would you happen to know of someone who refers to you as 'small and scary'?"

Her eyes widened in shock, "You talked to him? Does he know where Edogawa-kun is?"

"I spoke with him, yes," Hakuba paused to eye the Osakan still blocking the door. "May I come inside, Haibara-san? I believe this conversation should be had in private."

Haibara nodded, shoving Hattori out of the doorway and ignoring his sputtered protests. "Do come in, Hakuba-san, I hope I can contribute to your investigation."

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the ending, I couldn't get the scene to flow from there...it just all came out clunky and awkward...maybe the continuation will be in a future chapter.

Anyway, my plan at the moment is for next chapter to be from Kaito's POV. Hopefully the writer's block will stay away when I find the time to actually type it...

Edit 11/15/19: Fixed Agasa's address


	6. One Choice

A/N: Occurs roughly an hour or two after Conan tripped into a standoff between KID and Snake (Ch. 4, Kidnapped).

* * *

Even with Poker Face helping to manage his emotions Kid was finding it difficult not to panic. One of his detectives had been kidnapped by Snake and an unknown party (had Tantei-kun been scared because he recognized them? or had he actually been frightened by the threats?) and Kid had been forced to _leave him alone with them_. He was almost certain Tantei-kun would not be at the coordinates he'd received, which meant he had to confront Snake again before he could search for the detective (he had no choice really, he couldn't risk searching for Tantei-kun instead of following Snake's orders—with no ideas there's no way Kaito could find and rescue Conan before the deadline and Snake would have no problems acting on his threat).

Landing roughly a block from his destination, Kid cautiously made his way across the rooftops until he reached the large warehouse (so cliché, but this section actually seemed to be in use, which…he's not sure what that said about Snake really) and kept an eye out for anyone guarding the roof as he planned his way in. Finding an acceptable window, Kid swiftly had it open and was swinging down onto the sill before he climbed onto one of the beams supporting the roof. From his space in the rafters he couldn't see anyone waiting on the ground, but there was a dim glow back-lighting some of the crates deeper inside the warehouse. So he crept silently across the beams (and moved carefully to prevent odd shadows on the ceiling) until his math put him a short distance from where the light-source should be before dropping soundlessly to the warehouse floor. He made his way around the last stack of crates—

—saw a gun in his face and barely stifled the instinct to go for a smoke bomb; anything that looked like pulling a weapon would only get him shot (this guy somehow seemed more insanely trigger happy than Snake, which he hadn't thought was possible).

An instant later he was glad he froze, as the man spoke up, "Move and you die, thief." Apparently satisfied with Kid's stillness, the man gave a sinister grin, "Now, you have a choice—you work for us; or your brat dies."

Kid felt the blood drain from his face and forced his voice to stay calm as he questioned, "How do I know you haven't already killed him?"

The grin became impossibly more savage, "The brat is our insurance. You try to go against us; the brat takes your punishment."

Kid swallowed against sudden nausea. When he'd first met Snake and his men he'd been horrified to realize they would heartlessly kill anyone they thought would get in their way, but this—this was so much worse. All he could think was that he hoped Tantei-kun could forgive him, because whatever these men would force him to do, however horrible, Kaito knew he would never forgive himself if he abandoned the tiny detective to this group of monsters.

"Your choice, thief."

He closed his eyes and replied, "It seems I can't refuse your offer of work." There's a hissing sound and a sharp pain in his left shoulder had Kid snapping his eyes open. He looked down at his shoulder to see an ominous looking dart stuck there as the world whirled disconcertingly around him. He barely had time for a mental 'oh, shit' before his limbs collapsed under him and he blacked out.

~KK~

Consciousness returns slowly, in small pieces as his mind groggily registers input from his senses.

It's quiet here.

He's aware of being cold.

His body aches with discomfort.

The air tastes musty and stale.

He hears his own breathing; the steady drum of his heartbeat.

The space he is in smells of dust and disuse.

In the quiet he can hear a distant hum of activity, and there is a droning buzz which is loud in comparison.

His eyelids peel themselves open sluggishly and he sees a dimly lit grey wall.

He's lying on the (uncomfortable) grey floor, at the edge of his vision he sees a thin-looking blanket which he realizes he can feel underneath him.

He can feel the blanket because he isn't wearing his suit, hat, or monocle.

A surge of adrenaline brought him to full alert as he realized whoever had left him here had taken the Kid suit; all his tools were gone, and the room he's in was utterly bare of anything useful. _He's not disguised_. He's just been rather effectively imprisoned by Snake and his cronies. Kaito was trapped in an unknown location, with no thieving tools or even anything to create a disguise. Even worse, he still had no idea what exactly they wanted him to do. Presumably, they wanted him to go out and steal gems for them (and gods, he wasn't even sure who 'they' were at this point), but he had seen too many unfamiliar faces to believe that he knew everything these monsters wanted him to do for them. He mentally stomped on the panic threatening to take over, but he couldn't help feeling exposed and vulnerable. Gingerly standing, Kaito decided exploring the room more thoroughly might be enough of a distraction to keep him calm.

The room was utterly empty and he couldn't spot any cameras or bugs (_nothing visible that he might be able to use later to escape_); which left Kaito nothing to do but fret himself to pieces as he waited for someone to check on him. And he still had no idea what had happened to Tantei-kun, or where they were keeping him. If Kaito was being honest with himself, that was probably a large part of his failure to stop the panic. In this situation, not being disguised wasn't that much of a disadvantage. He had been captured as KID, they all knew he was KID, and whatever they wanted, knowing his civilian identity only meant he'd need a more detailed cover if he ever got a chance to grab Tantei-kun and run. Even though Snake had thought he was Toichi, Kid being Kaito instead likely wouldn't make much difference to the assassin. If he was lucky, knowing he was a teenager would make them underestimate him (_not that he could count on that_). However, without any supplies or even a method of communication he had no way of reassuring himself that he hadn't gotten his smallest critic killed.

He hated feeling this helpless, but as there was no one here to take advantage of his mental state and no sign that there would be anytime soon (_probably left him to stew over their threats_) he decided to take advantage and let himself freak out for a bit. Panicking mentally probably wasn't great, but Kaito had no information (_how had things gotten this out of hand? he must have gotten too used to Snake being predictable_) with which to even begin a plan (_find Tantei-kun and get out was a distant goal at this point_) so really, he might as well get it over with. Maybe by the time someone got here he'd have calmed down enough to be rational and would be able to negotiate somehow so they'd let him see Tantei-kun.

In a last attempt to distract himself he dragged the blanket into a corner, curled under it in an attempt to ward off the chill and propped himself up facing the door, so he'd have as much warning as possible when someone decided to come inside. Even as he let his thoughts of what terrible acts he might be forced to commit (as well as thoughts of Tantei-kun hating him for all of it) run wild through his head, Kaito refused to listen to the terrified voice at the back of his mind that whispered at him that his captors were killers and Tantei-kun could have been badly hurt (_don't think about it_) to keep him from trying to get away; or Tantei-kun could already be dead (_they need him as leverage, hecan'tbedead!_).

* * *

A/N: ...KID stole the muse. Hopefully he'll return them to Haibara soon.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter :)

As a side note: this chap was almost titled '(don't) panic' but the reference to LotR and Elrond telling the council 'you have only one choice' won because I always found that line ironic.


End file.
